Community Support Program in LebanonaaaaaaaSeptember 2020
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Introducing CSP's Newsletter |
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The Community Support Program (CSP) is a seven-year activity, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), designed to address the emerging needs of Lebanon’s most underserved communities. Two years after its launch, CSP is continuing to use its fast and adaptive approach to promote stabilization and development in communities throughout the North, South, and Beqaa Valley. We are also finding ways to serve areas outside our focus regions that are also experiencing acute needs — including, most recently, the neighborhoods in Beirut most affected by the August 4 explosions. Our first newsletter highlights our blast response in Beirut, our support to olive farmers in South Lebanon, and more to showcase our dedication to serving our partners during this period of critical need in Lebanon. By launching the newsletter at this time, we also hope to show our commitment to finding ways to serve new communities that either need our assistance now or will need it in the future. We are excited to share it with you, and we invite you to reach out to us via email or social media about any of the updates you will find.
— Rhett Gurian, Chief of Party, USAID Community Support Program
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Activity Spotlight
Following the August 4 explosions in Beirut, USAID identified an urgent need to provide coordinated assistance in the cleanup effort in the capital while offering temporary employment for area residents. CSP is working with five established local organizations — the René Moawad Foundation, Caritas Liban, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, Nahnoo, and the Association for Forests, Development, and Conservation — to select, train, and supervise 250 workers to safely remove, sort, and properly dispose of debris and recyclables from the worst-affected neighborhoods. The activity launch took place less than a week after the blast and was attended by Acting USAID Administrator John Barsa and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea. CSP is following up on this initial response with other interventions, including fixing public streetlights and supporting businesses that were damaged or destroyed in the explosion.
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CSP Trains Olive Farmers Ahead of Harvesting Season |
With the harvest fast approaching, the CSP team worked with olive farmers cooperatives in southern Tanbourit and northern Akroum to make sure they maximize their revenues from using and renting out CSP-provided equipment.
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Community Voices:
Berqayel
In July, CSP began an awareness campaign on sorting at source in Akkar's Berqayel to complement its procurement of solid waste bins in the town. Said a resident named Mohammed: "The campaign is preserving Berqayel's public health."
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In addition to CSP's regular activities in the North, South, and Beqaa Valley, the team is hard at work designing and preparing to implement six large-scale wastewater infrastructure projects. The interventions include the upgrade, rehabilitation, and/or construction of infrastructure in all three of CSP's focus regions, and will enable local facilities to treat an estimated 40,000 additional cubic meters of wastewater per day. |
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Meet Lamya, CSP’s training and partnerships coordinator. A graduate of USAID's Univeristy Scholarship Program, Lamya helps to make sure the targeted training workshops that the program delivers to communities address their needs in the best way possible. Outside her work at CSP, Lamya loves cooking everything from Lebanese kebabs and kibbe to a traditional Lebanese dessert called osmalieh, which she posts about on her Instagram page, @momsbakerylove. "The support I get from my followers and CSP colleagues drives me to pursue my passions inside and outside work," she says.
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Like what you read? Follow us on social media! |
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This newsletter is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this newsletter is the sole responsibility of the Community Support Program (CSP) in Lebanon and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. |
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